Fans of the video game The Legend of Zelda (Live-Action) have been waiting a long time to see the characters come to life in live-action, and despite an announcement for the film's release, I'm more worried than ever about the movie actually being made. Obviously, video game adaptations had a bad reputation for many years. The entire genre appeared to be cursed to only release flops, but that all changed in 2019 and 2020 when Detective Pikachu and Sonic the Hedgehog released live-action adaptations that worked.

Since then, more video game adaptations have come to the big screen, with some in live-action and others animated, but many have been major successes, and I have personally been a huge fan of these adaptations, finally shining a light on some incredible games that deserve more attention. But it also leads to questions about when other fan-favorite games will get their adaptations, and in 2023, Nintendo confirmed that one of the oldest and most popular franchises, The Legend of Zelda, was finally set to get a movie of its own.

After Waiting So Long, The Legend Of Zelda's Vague Movie Release Window Is Concerning

It's Hard To Be Excited For A Movie That Feels So Far Away

At the time, a director and writer were even announced to helm the project and bring it to life, but November 2024 brought with it an update that genuinely deflated my hopes for this movie getting made. While discussing the projects from Nintendo, it was revealed that The Legend of Zelda movie currently has a release date set as 202X. This nondescript, vague figure essentially means that they don't have a concrete plan, and they hope it will be out by 2029 at the latest, which gives it a five year window.

However, this also proves that the movie is not a high priority for Nintendo, as their focus remains on things like the Super Mario Bros. Movie sequel, and their many other projects. Of course, that makes sense, The Super Mario Bros. Movie brought in over a billion dollars, but it does feel like a disappointing update for Link and the Kingdom of Hyrule.

The Legend Of Zelda Will Be A Very Difficult Movie To Make (& Even Harder To Get Right)

Video Game Movies Have Only Started To Gain Momentum

Perhaps part of the delay comes from how challenging it could be to make a Legend of Zelda movie in the first place. While the franchise is popular, it's also got an extensive history that runs back over 38 years and dozens of games. These games also include some of the richest storytelling from any Nintendo title, with an expansive open world play style in the most popular Nintendo Switch releases. This means there are fans across multiple generations, with very different ideas of what The Legend of Zelda should be.

Pleasing everyone, including enough source material to make all kinds fo fans and newcomers happy, and building a functional new franchise is an overwhelming challenge. However, it is one that they appear to have done incredibly well with when working with Illumination on the Mario movie, which had many similar constraints. So, it's possible that Nintendo is holding out to start another collaboration, which could be their best shot at making The Legend of Zelda movies work, but since it's set to be live-action, they need another studio with more experience in that realm to make it work.